Derby accept fate but Hodgson remains in denial

This was a result that neither team wanted but both seemed strangely satisfied with. Derby were finally put out of their misery and officially told what they already knew: that they would be playing Championship football next season. But their character and hunger augured well for their prospects in the lower division and was such that the Fulham manager, Roy Hodgson, considered his a point won rather than two points lost, even though the Cottagers are now six from safety.

Derby have used 34 players this season - more than any other Premier League club; Fulham are second on 33 - trying to find a competitive blend and the improvement here suggests the team Paul Jewell has assembled will be just that when they take the step down. "The performances in the last few games have been fantastic and you can see the gaffer is building a team with people who can run, work hard, fight and who are winners," said the captain, Robbie Savage. "If we get a few more players in like that in the summer for next season, then we will have a great chance of coming straight back up."

Savage's blond counterpart in the Fulham midfield, Jimmy Bullard, was equally upbeat about Derby's chances, having played under Jewell at Wigan for four years. "He's pukka, a blinding manager," said Bullard. "I was surprised when he took over in such a situation here. He wants to build. I will say to all the fans to stick with him because he will get the results. I fancy them to come straight back up."

Of course, it will not be that simple for a team that could break all records for ineptitude this season - they need five points to beat Sunderland's Premier League low mark of 15 and three more goals to avoid having the lowest goals to games ratio in football league history. Furthermore, their record in the cups against Championship sides - played four, drawn three, lost one - suggests that a real dogfight awaits.

It is crucial, therefore, that they retain their best players, notably Savage and the lively Argentinian striker Emanuel Villa, who struck his second and third goals in Derby colours to make him the club's joint leading scorer in the league. "We're looking for a sustained attack on the Championship but there won't be a ridiculous amount to spend,"Jewell admitted. "I didn't really want Stephen Pearson to go to Stoke on loan but I look at it that the money we save on his wages goes towards my budget for next season."

Hodgson refused to agree that this result damaged Fulham's hopes of survival, despite letting slip the lead that Diomansy Kamara's header and Dean Leacock's own-goal had given them. "I'm not prepared to concede this was a game we should have won at a canter because I don't regard Derby as a bad team," he said. "We don't accept relegation: we're six points behind but there's six games to play." If this game was not must-win, the next two fixtures against Sunderland and Reading surely are. And, if Fulham fail to show more urgency, Derby will be back on their schedule again next year.